1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a multi-function peripheral in which an image reading apparatus such as a flatbed type scanner and a recording apparatus such as an ink jet type printer are combined in one body.
2. Related Art
Hitherto, there is a multi-function peripheral in which a printer unit that functions as a recording apparatus and a scanner unit that functions as an image reading apparatus are combined in one body (for example, JP-A-2006-321628). The scanner unit of the multi-function peripheral of JP-A-2006-321628 has a housing disposed on the upper side of the printer unit, a platen glass with a flat plate shape is disposed at an upper face of the housing, and an image sensor for reading an image of an original document placed on the platen glass is disposed in the housing.
On the other hand, the printer unit of the multi-function peripheral has a housing disposed on the lower side of the scanner unit, and a recording head for performing recording on a recording medium such as a sheet and a paper feed mechanism that supplies sheets of paper toward the recording head are disposed in the housing. In addition, as the recording head of the printer unit, a serial type recording head which is supported by a carriage that moves in a main scanning direction perpendicular to a paper feed direction of a sheet and forms an image on the sheet while moving in the main scanning direction along with the carriage is known.
In general, the image sensor of the scanner unit is supported by a carriage that is movable along the platen glass and reads the image of the original document while moving along with the carriage. As the carriage that supports the image sensor, there is a self-propelled type carriage in which a motor (driving source) for moving the carriage and a pinion gear rotated by the motor are mounted (for example, JP-A-2009-205134). The self-propelled carriage is moved by driving the motor in a state where the pinion gear is engaged with a rack provided on the housing side of the scanner unit.
However, in the multi-function peripheral, the carriage that supports the recording head needs a large storage space in the printer unit, and the motor mounted in the carriage needs a large storage space in the scanner unit. Therefore, in a case where the printer unit having the carriage that supports the recording head and the scanner unit having the self-propelled carriage are lined up in the up and down direction, there is a problem in that the entire height of the multi-function peripheral is increased.